The film follows a filmmaker who is given the chance to reboot a once popular horror film franchise as she seeks the reclusive star of the first film to star in the new reboot. It is a film that follows this woman who not only want to do something new to a film franchise she loved but also update it to be in more in line with today’s views as the franchise had issues in relation to a transgender killer known as Little Death. Jane Schoenbrun’s screenplay explores a film franchise known as Camp Miasma where it an 80s slasher film set in a camp where camp counselors get killed by this mysterious killer known as Little Death who wreaks havoc on everyone as the killer had been drowned to death by campers because the person was transgender. For its new director Kris Williams (Hannah Einbinder), she is an enthusiastic fan of the first film as she also knows the franchise as she also wants to fix the franchise to be more palatable towards today’s audiences.
One of Williams’ ideas in rebooting the film is to find the first film’s final girl played by Billy Presley (Amanda Fix) who disappeared after the film’s release. After discovering her whereabouts, Williams meets the reclusive Billy (Gillian Anderson) who has been living on the set where Camp Miasma had been filmed as Billy is intrigued by Williams’ pitch as it leads to stories about Billy’s time making the film where she showed Williams her own print of the first film. For Williams, she would reveal her own sexual desires as she starts to fall for Billy while learning the origins of Little Death who was this transgender camper that wants to kill everyone and only comes out of the water when it is hungry for more.
Schoenbrun’s direction is stylish from the opening of the film where it shows video footage of a crew making Camp Miasma as it then leads to a shot in the film where Little Death kills a couple. Shot on location in British Columbia to play into the Pacific Northwest setting of where Camp Miasma was shot. Schoenbrun creates this weird world where the first act has this sense of hyper-realism in the world that Williams lives in as it is colorful and vibrant, but it is a stark contrast to the world of Camp Miasma and the world that Billy lives in. It is a world that has this air of artificiality that plays into a world that Billy prefers instead of what is happening in the real world. Schoenbrun’s direction also has this inspired usage of the split diopter shots where one character is in the foreground with another character in the background. It adds to some of the dramatic tension and romanticism as it relates to Williams own fascination towards Billy. Even as Billy show her a different cut of Camp Miasma that adds a lot of intrigue to the lore of Little Death.
The scenes in Camp Miasma are presented in a typical 1980s style in terms of its compositions with the usage of wide and medium shots to set a tone of how characters interact with one another as well as to build suspense. Most notably a sequence where Little Death would come out of the water and kill people where it is presented in an unbroken tracking shot with different close-ups and point-of-view shots as it plays into the moment where Billy’s character becomes the final girl. Schoenbrun also plays into the world of fantasy in its third function as it relates to Williams’ own sexual desires though it is considered unfitting with today’s view of morality. Schoenbrun also play up the element of surrealism in the final function as well as making fun of the tropes expected in a slasher film. Overall, Schoenbrun crafts a provocative and witty film about a queer filmmaker trying to pitch a reclusive actress into starring a slasher film reboot.
Cinematographer Eric Yue does brilliant work with the film’s cinematography with its usage of low-key lighting for the interior/exterior scenes at night as well as natural lighting for the daytime scenes at Billy’s cabin as well as some vibrant colors for some of the daytime exterior scenes. Editor Graham Mason does excellent work with the editing with its usage of jump-cuts and knowing when not to cut as well as some usage of slow-motion edits to play into Williams’ fantasy. Production designers Matt Hyland and Brandon Tonner-Connolly, along with set decorator Hana Cook and art director Courtney Stockstad, do amazing work with the look of Billy’s cabin as well as Camp Miasma and the sets in the Camp Miasma movie. Costume designer Kendra Terpenning does fantastic work with the costumes in the stylish clothing that Billy wears as well as the 80s-style clothing of the characters in the Camp Miasma film.
Makeup effects designer Werner Pretorius does terrific work with the look of some of the characters including the counselors in the slasher film as well as the design of some of the gore including in some of the kill scenes. Visual effects supervisor Fenner Rockliffe does incredible work with the special effects in the look of Camp Miasma in how Billy sees it and the usage of gore that occurs throughout the film. Sound designer Tim Korn does superb work with the sound in how Little Death appears from his/her view as well as sparse sound effects that add to the sense of horror and dark comedy. The film’s music by Alex G is wonderful for its eerie electronic score that play into the suspense and horror as well as playing up to the style of 80s slasher films while music supervisors Scotty Taylor and Menno Versteeg create a fun soundtrack that includes music from R.E.M., Counting Crows, Donna Lewis, M83, Sade, Andy Shauf, Sally Shapiro, Sergei Stern, Mark Maxwell, and Okay Kaya doing a synth-pop cover of the R.E.M. song Nightswimming in the film’s opening credits.
The casting by Courtney Bright, Nicole Daniels, Errin Lally, and Annalese Tilling is phenomenal as it feature some notable small roles from Freya Edwards as young Kris, Jess McLeod and Louise Weard as a couple of studio officials with the latter being a queer assistant, Dylan Baker as a top studio executive, Kevin MacDonald as a hotel clerk in Anthony who appeared in the first Camp Miasma as a country sheriff, Patrick Fischler as a gas station clerk in Camp Miasma, Aren Buchholz as a partner that Kris’ girlfriend is dating, Jasmin Savoy Brown as Kris’ girlfriend Mari who is not interested in monogamy, and Sarah Sherman in a hilarious performance as Kris’ agent who always like to say some profane shit.
For the ensemble in the Camp Miasma film, there is Zach Cherry as the camp counselor Will, Eva Victor as a camp counselor in the punk DJ Ella Giastic, Quintessa Swindell as a friend of Billy’s character, Arthur Conti as Billy’s character’s love interest, and Amanda Fix in an excellent performance as Billy’s character as a young woman that would be the final girl in the first film. Jack Haven is brilliant in the role of the film franchise killer known as Little Death as this transgender camper who would wear a giant metal thing on its head while killing a bunch of people. Haven may not say anything as he/she is more of a presence, yet Haven does manage to make this mysterious character to be an interesting figure that also deserves sympathy over the transphobic message that the first film implied.
Gillian Anderson is great as Billy Presley as a reclusive film star who is unsure about returning to the film franchise where she only did the first film. Anderson sports a Southern accent that is intoxicating to listen to as she is also someone filled with ambiguity and intrigue as it is one of Anderson’s finest performances. Finally, there is Hannah Einbinder in a tremendous performance as the queer filmmaker Kris Williams as someone who has a love for the film franchise and Presley where she wants to update and bring something new while is also gaining a sexual awakening in her time with Presley. It is a performance where Einbinder brings a complexity of someone whose fantasy is considered misogynistic yet there is something entrancing in what Williams wants as it also plays into a woman trying to find herself through her love of horror, candy, and dipping sauce.
Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma is a spectacular film by Jane Schoenbrun that features sensational performances from Hannah Einbinder and Gillian Anderson. Along with its colorful visuals, study of sexuality and horror film tropes, mixture of humor and suspense, and a rapturous music soundtrack. It is a film that is not afraid to be provocative in its exploration of slasher films as well as make fun of its tropes while allowing a young woman wanting to bring something new to a franchise while experiencing her own sexual awakening. In the end, Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma is a tremendous film by Jane Schoenbrun.
Jane Schoenbrun Films: (We’re All Going to the World’s Fair) – (I Saw the TV Glow)
© thevoid99 2026
Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 10/14/07 w/ Additional Edits & Revisions.
Directed by Julie Taymor and written by Taymor, Dick Clement, and Ian La Frenais, Across the Universe is a musical inspired by the music of the Beatles about a Liverpool boy who travels to America to find his long-lost father as he falls in love with an American girl during the 1960s. The film is an exploration into a period of time set to the music of the Beatles as it plays into the idea of peace and love through some of the most tumultuous moments of the 1960s. Starring Jim Sturgess, Evan Rachel Wood, Joe Anderson, Dana Fuchs, Martin Luther McCoy, T.V. Carpio, and cameos from Eddie Izzard, U2's Bono, and Frida star Salma Hayek. Across the Universe is a dazzling and off-the-wall film from Julie Taymor.
In his dour world of Liverpool, a young man named Jude (Jim Sturgess) is hoping to find his father in America, who left his mother (Angela Mounsey) as a baby. Leaving behind his girlfriend Molly (Lisa Hogg) and the world he's known for all of his life, Jude enters into a new world. Landing himself in Princeton, he finds his father Wes Huber (Robert Clohessy) working as a janitor while revealing that he has his own family. Staying in his father's bunk in Princeton, Jude befriends a student named Max (Joe Anderson) after a night of fun. Max, who lives in an upper class home of sorts, invites Jude to Thanksgiving as they meet Max's sister Lucy (Evan Rachel Wood). When Max announces to his family his decision to drop out of school and go to New York City, only Lucy is supportive of the decision with Jude joining along.
Arriving at the city, they stay at the apartment of a singer named Sadie (Dana Fuchs) who has also invited African-American singer-guitarist JoJo (Martin Luther McCoy) as well as a young Asian-American named Prudence (T.V. Carpio). For a while, things to be great with Jude pursuing his artistic pursuits in drawings and paintings as Max decides to invite Lucy to the city. Lucy, still in mourning over the death of her high school boyfriend Daniel (Spencer Liff) at the war, falls for Jude as everything seems to be fine. Then Max receives news that he's been drafted to join the Army forcing Lucy to deal with her feelings towards the war. With Max hoping not to get drafted, things get tense when Sadie is considered for a label deal of her own rather than her band with JoJo. After a party with Dr. Roberts (Bono), they end up taking a trip and have another party with Mr. Kite (Eddie Izzard) as Prudence has joined his circus.
Upon their return to New York City, Max has been drafted and sent to Vietnam for the war. Sadie and JoJo begin to separate while Lucy becomes more involved in activism with an activist named Phil (Michael Ryan). Jude however, decides to not be involved with peace movements in order to pursue his own art which causes friction with Lucy. Yet, as things become tense and nothing is improving over the war or the protests, Jude tells Lucy about her involvement as he and JoJo try to find their own worlds through their art. Finally after another protest where Jude, is suddenly involved, things start to fall apart as Jude gets help from the last he expects to help him as everyone is forced to look inward.
While musicals aren't for all audiences, a musical with music by the Beatles is a tough sell yet the result is definitely spectacular. Even from the mind as someone as ambitious from Julie Taymor. While the result isn't entirely perfect, what she brings to the film is a look that is completely its own and with the music of the Beatles, Taymor brings everything back to the 1960s. With puppet-like sets, visual collages, and everything that seems to represent the psychedelic 60s, it's definitely a film that will stimulate as well as warp the mind of the viewer.
The film's script definitely has an interesting structure in how the music is presented and where it's taking place. The first act starts off very innocently with early music from the Beatles including some more upbeat tracks. From the dour world of Liverpool that Jude lives to the beautiful suburbia that Lucy lives in. Yet, the tone begins to change when both Lucy and JoJo have their first encounter with death, in JoJo's case, the death of a family member following the Detroit riots in '67. In the second act, the music is geared towards mid-60s Beatles where everything at first seems fine and then chaos ensues. By the third act which is around '68-'70, things start to wind down as everyone faces their own sense of disillusionment. Yet, a lot of what happens includes many references to not just that period but also the moments that happened to the Beatles as well.
The script works for the most part though it starts out very clunky and when a musical sequence is going to happen, the audiences tends to know what's going to happen. That's part of the film's weakness at first even as it has the feeling where the performance feels like a music video. Yet, as the film continues, things start to relax as the audiences know what's going to happen where the music and story finally gel. A lot of credit goes to Taymor in her presentation that includes some wonderful sequences that involves dancers and sets where the whole film does feel like theater. Then there's the music that plays to the film and by the second act, it starts to feel very natural and comforting while the message that goes in terms of what was going in the 60s doesn't feel heavy-handed. It's more about what the characters are going through and such.
Helping with Taymor's vision in terms of her staging and musical numbers is choreographer Daniel Ezralow whose choreography feels natural and not in an engaging way that would make the viewer uncomfortable. It actually works to emphasize the emotions and the feeling of where the characters are. Cinematographer Bruno Delbonnel use of lights from the multi-colored lights mixed in with animation sequences, visual effects design by Dongho Lee that brings some joy and rhythm to whatever sequence that's going on. Delbonnel's photography is exquisite with some wonderful exterior shots that look naturally dreamy while the interiors are amazing to the staging of the film. Editor Francoise Bonnot does some fine work with a lot of the film's editing without making into that rapid, MTV-style of cutting that's dominant in a lot of films. Instead, it moves very well with the rhythm and tone of the music as well as the emotions in the performances.
Production designer Mark Friedberg along with set decorator Ellen Christansen and art director Peter Rogness do some amazing work in the film's production. Whether it's the flashing lights that pop up during the bowling alley sequences, a hospital scene that involved a bunch of nurses played Salma Hayek, the puppets, and a lot of the recreation of 1960s psychedelic clubs, and the Liverpool club that's a reference to the Cavern where the Beatles played in their early years. The overall work on the production is amazing in every detail and look with its use of locations. Costume designer Albert Wosky does some great work with the film's look whether it's the leather-like, black look of Jude, the upper-class look of Lucy, to the psychedelic looks of Sadie and JoJo. Each look the film has in its costume works well with the period. Even in the makeup by Mary Aaron and Louise McCarthy do great work, even with the masks that some of the people wear.
Sound effects editor Wyatt Sprague does some great work in creating the atmosphere of the locations where the characters are as it plays to the tone of the film, particularly in the second and third act. Taymor's husband and music composer Elliot Goldenthal brings a nice film score that plays to Max's horrors at war as well as the sense of disillusionment that comes in the third act with its soft, orchestral score. The rest of the film soundtrack is definitely filled with Beatles covers and to its surprise, they were all actually well performed and sung by the cast. Standout cuts include Jeff Beck's guitar performance of A Day In The Life, Martin Luther McCoy's While My Guitar Gently Weeps, Because by the entire cast, and many more. It's an overall fantastic soundtrack.
The cast is definitely unique with cameos from Dylan Baker as Max & Lucy's father, Bill Irwin as their uncle, James Urbaniak as Sadie's manager, Salma Hayek as a gorgeous nurse (who wouldn't want her as 6-7 nurses?), and Joe Cocker doing a cover of Come Together in three different roles including a pimp that's a sight to see. U2's Bono makes a glorious cameo while sporting a cool American accent as this guru named Dr. Roberts. Other small appearances from Robert Clohessy, Angela Mounsey, Linda Emond as Lucy's mother, Lisa Hogg, Spencer Liff, and Michael Ryan are good in their small roles. T.V. Carpio is excellent as the confused Prudence who is trying to find her own identity as well as her own role in the world. Though her role is small, she makes most of her appearances leaving the viewer wanting more as she does a nice cover of I Want To Hold Your Hand. Dana Fuchs is impressive as the bohemian, Janis Joplin-like singer Sadie who is just sexy and a hell of a vocalist as her renditions of a few Beatles song in a bluesy style.
Martin Luther McCoy is great as the Jimi Hendrix-like character JoJo who can play a mean guitar while doing some spirited, soulful renditions of While My Guitar Gently Weeps while his duets with Fuchs are just awe-inspiring to convey their love-hate relationship. The film's real breakthrough performance is Joe Anderson as the non-conforming Max who brings a very energetic, spirited performance that is a sight to watch. The British actor not only sports a perfect American accent but his singing and dance is equally as impressive in songs like Hey Jude, Happiness Is A Warm Gun with Salma Hayek, and With A Little Help From My Friends with Jim Sturgess. Jim Sturgess is incredible as Jude, a young man who just wants to make art and have fun. Sturgess' vocal performance is amazing as he definitely adds emotions and angst into the songs, notably Revolution, Across The Universe, Girl, and Something. Sturgess not only can sing but also act as his chemistry with Evan Rachel Wood is insatiable. Evan Rachel Wood delivers a strong yet complex performance as Lucy who starts out as an innocent young girl who is forced to find reason over the death of her first boyfriend. Wood definitely is the acting veteran among her main cast while proving to sell herself not just in the film's dramatic moments but also the musical performances. Wood's vocals are definitely impressive and natural as she sings them with such life on songs like It Won't Be Long, If I Fell, and Blackbird.
Across the Universe is a marvelous film from Julie Taymor. While it is a very flawed film, it is a film that manages to be a lot of things as it includes a superb cast and amazing technical work. Especially as it has something to offer for fans of the Beatles to see these songs be re-interpreted for a new generation. In the end, Across the Universe is a visually spectacular film from Julie Taymor.
Julie Taymor Films: Titus (1999 film) - Frida - The Tempest (2010 film) - The Auteurs #42: Julie Taymor
© thevoid99 2014
